This is our first mailbag episode where we dig into these questions: - When do you give up on a game? - How do you recover from mistakes and setbacks? - How do you distinguish yourself from other games?

Video Version: https://youtu.be/ssIhzMMnQ4Y

How should you use print-and-plays as a designer, publisher, or indie creator? We discuss some options!

- Advantages

- Early Feedback

- Kickstarter

- Limited or Full Version?

- What do players use them for?

- Shopping Ahead

- Evaluating Gameplay

- Evaluating Art

- Why a P&P isn’t giving the game away.

- Translations

- Other components

- P&Ps at Cons

Video Version: https://youtu.be/0x0Jz9YVoug

Join us for a discussion on the tools you need to host your own game design convention, such as:

- Start small

   o Monthly meet-ups

   o Prototype night

- Location

   o Mom & Pop Restaurant

   o Game Store

- Getting Published Designers

- Travel and Experience

- Supporting and Nurturing Designers

- Getting Playtesters

- Publishers at Conventions

- First-time Designers at Conventions

- Untested Games at Conventions

Video Version: https://youtu.be/-ax6bUpVlv0

Video Version: https://youtu.be/TrAmYLu8TTQ

- Make sure design is finished

- The major steps include:

    o Art

    o Manufacturing and Proofing

    o Kickstarter Prep

    o Review Copies

    o Informing Retailers

    o Shipping and Fulfillment

- Art takes longer than expected

- Break down EVERY task and element

- The order of the tasks matters

- Run aspects by outside eyes

- Where can we find an in-depth description of the process?

- What task management tools are available?

- What is the overall timeline?

We sprinkle in these game balancing topics, among others, into our discussion:

• Easy to Balance Games
• Hard to Balance Games
• How many playtests?
• How to Make Adjustments
• Cutting to Balance
• Balancing and Adding
• Types of Players
• Length of Game
• Keeping Scores Close

Video Version: https://youtu.be/NudmOYeT4-k

Do you have a game that you want to get into the magical land of "distribution"? We talk about how to make that happen! Some topics we discuss are:

• What is distribution?
• What is the structure of the market?
• Why go through distribution?
• What profits can one expect?
• Why do retailers like distribution?
• How does one get picked up by a distributor?
• Big consolidators and distributors
• Minimum print sizes

Video Version: https://youtu.be/bpQyJndfdyk

Grant Rodiek from Hyperbole Games hosts a panel at Protospiel

Thanks to Jordan Nichols from Your Game Night

We continue with our top 10 mistakes new designers make with a list from the designer perspective, led by Jeremy Commandeur.

Brian makes a list of the top 10 mistakes new designers make from the perspective of a publisher and we all debate about it. This covers things like the design decisions that will make a game harder to sell. Jeremy will share his list from a designer perspective in the next episode!

We discuss these chipboard-related topics:

- Why use chipboard?

o Feel

o Durability

- Why wouldn’t you want to?

o Cost

o Wear

o Weight

- 3D chipboard constructions

- Cost analysis

- Sizes and custom shapes

- Standard sheets/thickness/layers

- Finishes and coating

- Unpub/Protospiel San Jose

Video Version: https://youtu.be/LyfAAS2aYZA